The End Zone: SPORTS ROMANCE (Contemporary Sport Bad Boy Alpha Male American Football Romance) (New Adult Second Chance Women’s Fiction Romance Short Stories) (31 page)

“I’m going to make us something,” I said grinning, and then I climbed out of the tub.

I wrapped myself in a warm fluffy robe, stepped into a pair of slippers, and headed to the kitchen. What to make, what to make? I wasn’t much of a chef, Ben was the cook in this relationship and a great cook at that! But tonight, I was cooking. I pulled out a frying pan and turned on the stove. Then I got out a spatula, butter, cheese and bread. Ten minutes later, grilled cheese sandwiches were served. Ben laughed when he saw what I had made.

“You are wonderful!” he exclaimed, taking a bite of his sandwich. “This is exquisite. The best grilled cheese that I’ve had in a long time.”

              “Thank you baby! It’s an old family tradition.” Ben chuckled.

We ate the grilled cheese sandwiches in front of the fireplace along with glasses of wine while wearing our robes. Ben seemed to be thinking about something as he stared into the fire.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.  He looked at me thoughtfully.

“Did you have sex with Jeremy in the pool?” he asked.

“No. He tried to. But I only let him eat me out,” I admitted. Ben smiled, relief washing over him. “Did you not want me to have sex with him?”

“I left the choice up to you,” he said.

“But you were hoping that I would choose not to.”

“Yes.” I put down my sandwich, licked my fingers and grabbed Ben’s face so that he was facing mine.

“I don’t want anyone but you Benjamin Blest. I would never have slept with him without you,” I told him. Then I kissed him. Then I picked up the rest of my sandwich and finished eating it.

“I’m tired,” Ben said. I finished the rest of my sandwich and we left the plates on the floor, heading to the bedroom hand in hand.

“If we have a girl, can we name her Linda?” I asked.

“Whatever you want,” Ben said. We crawled into bed.

“Maybe we should get a dog first. Baby steps,” I suggested. Ben laughed and this time he laughed long and hard, tears falling from his eyes. He lay back on the pillows.

“Whatever you want baby. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy,” he told me. I lay on his chest.

“Ok, then a dog it is,” I said. Ben had already fallen asleep, a smile on his face.

*****

Ménage

The next day, I woke up bright and early. It was a new day with new opportunities. When Ben got up, we got dressed and went out for breakfast. I ordered over-easy eggs, French toast, bacon and a mimosa. Ben ordered an omelet, Belgian waffles, sausages, and a mimosa. I loved mimosas, especially with breakfast.

“So what do you have planned for today?” Ben asked me as he took a bite of his omelet.

“The question is, what do I have planned for us today,” I corrected him with a smile, taking a sip of my mimosa.

“And the answer to that question would be?” he asked.

“We’re going to go pick up our baby girl!” I exclaimed, smiling big. Ben looked confused. “Today, we become parents.”

“What are you talking about Mya?” Ben asked. Instead of laughing, I just rubbed my hands together and laughed maniacally.

We had ridden in Ben’s Bentley so after breakfast, I asked if I could drive. Ben complied without a second thought. I drove us straight to an adoption center. Pet adoption that is!

“We’re going to adopt a puppy!” I announced, clapping my hands together. Ben laughed.

“You make me laugh,” he said, slipping his hand into mine.

“I love nothing more than making you laugh,” I told him, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. We entered the adoption center, where a young blonde woman was behind the counter. She paid me no mind, only looking at Ben with these groupie eyes that made me want to claw her eyes out of their sockets, but instead I kept it composed and classy.

“How may I help you today?” she asked Ben with the biggest goofiest smile that could most definitely get her slapped.

“We are interested in adopting a dog,” I told her with my sweetest fakest smile. Her smile faltered ever so slightly, but she kept it together.

“If you follow me, I’ll show you to our dogs,” she said before leading us to the back. In the back, there were all types of animals. Dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, and I wanted them all! They were all so cute! The blonde led us to where the dogs were and I took the leisure to peruse the cages. She thought that she was going to stand and chat with Ben but he walked away from her to follow me. I didn’t even try to hide my grin.

“So what kind are you looking for?” Ben asked me.

“A small, cute, fluffy one,” I explained. There were plenty that fit this description, but I knew that I would know the one when I saw it. And I did. It was a cute fluffy, Pomeranian that ran straight to the door of its cage to see me and I just knew. “This is the one,” I announced. The blonde opened the cage and attached a leash to the dog’s collar.

“Her name is Polly,” she told us as she led us back to the front.

“Not anymore it isn’t,” I muttered. We went to stand on the other side of the counter where I was able to play with the dog whose name once was Polly. I filled out the adoption paperwork and when it was time to write down her name, I wrote ‘Ménage.’ Disapproval flashed across the blonde’s face. Ben laughed.

“Ménage?” she asked.

“That’s right. Bye now!” I said with a little wave, leading my dog and my husband outside. We got in the car, Ben driving this time. Ménage sat in my lap and I played with her throughout the ride.

“Ménage?” Ben asked.

“A little reminder of this chapter of our lives,” I stated with a smile.

“Ah,” Ben said nodding.

“I’m going to order clothes for her online,” I told him. Then I had a fabulous idea. “Oh, my god! Let’s have a photo shoot!” Ben rolled his eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes,” I said grinning. Ménage barked. When I got home, Ben went and got his camera. When he returned, he began snapping away pictures of me and Ménage interacting. After a while, I headed upstairs to the bedroom and lay on the bed with Ménage. She curled up beside me while I stroked her soft fur.

Ben took a few more pictures, then put down his camera on the bedside table and climbed onto the bed. He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me to him, but Ménage started growling. I giggled.

“Already territorial,” Ben pointed out, shaking his head.

“She knows who her mom is,” I said and kissed the little dog on top of her little head. When Ménage was asleep, I crawled over to Ben and lay in his arms. He kissed me on the forehead and then on the cheek and finally on the lips. Ben reached under my shirt, over my soft belly and under my bra to grab a handful of one of my breasts. He squeezed as he kissed me, kissing on my neck. I stuck my hand under his shirt, caressing his defined abs. His skin was soft and smooth under my fingertips. I pulled off my shirt and unsnapped my bra, causing my breasts to bounce. Ben pulled off his shirt and stood up to take off his jeans. There was a tent in his boxers. I pulled off my pants and panties and lay back on the bed. Ben took off his boxers and stood over me, his weapon pointing straight at me. We hadn’t done missionary in a while and I wanted him on top of me.

Ben slid inside me while kissing me, my arms wrapped around his neck. He stroked slowly between my legs and licked my neck. Then he grabbed my breasts and pushed them up, sucking on one nipple and then on the other. I let my hands explore his strong back, loving how the muscles felt under his smooth skin. Then I slid my hands down, grabbing his firm butt cheeks. I slid a hand between them, close to the hole, but didn’t touch it. I didn’t want to throw him off. When he didn’t react, I did it again, this time grazing his butthole with his finger. He clenched his cheeks slightly, but kept the rhythm as he stroked. He pulled out and flipped me over, lying me flat on my stomach as he pinned my arms down with one hand. I stuck my bottom up ever so slightly with the side of my face pressed against the bed. With his free hand, Ben guided his dick back inside me, thrusting deep while I moaned.

Ben let go of my hands and gripped my soft ass cheeks, thrusting in and out. I raised up a little more so that I could throw my ass back, but kept my torso on the bed. Ben slapped my ass until I cried out and I looked back at him, making it wiggle. Ben thrust faster and harder, going deeper as he caressed my clit with his fingers. His other hand grabbed my hair and pulled, making me arch deeper as he fucked me. Ben reached over and licked my ear, knowing that drove me crazy making me fuck him back wilder and wetter. I pushed myself up onto my knees, bouncing my ass on him until it made a clapping sound. I forced him back, but then he cried out and jumped out of me and off of the bed. I sat back, looking confused and bewildered.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, but Ben wasn’t looking at me, he was pointing and looking at Ménage.

“That dog just licked my ass!” he exclaimed. I burst into laughter.

“Come back to bed baby and finish what you started,” I coaxed seductively, lying back with my legs opened wide. Ben shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Not until that dog is out of our room,” Ben demanded. I sucked my teeth, but shoed Ménage off of the bed. She jumped off and ran out of the room and Ben closed the door behind her. I rubbed his back.

“Ménage just wanted a ménage,” I couldn’t help myself and I got caught in another fit of laughing. Ben didn’t find it very funny. He stood back up.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. I looked between his legs. He didn’t look ready to go to work. I stood up too, slowly walking towards him.

“We’ve got business to finish in here first,” I told him as I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He grabbed me around the ass and lifted me up as I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist. Ben slipped his dick back inside me and while holding my ass, bounced me up and down. I moaned loudly, tossing my head back as he licked up my neck to my chin. I bounced back, grinding back and forth on him. He pushed me up against the wall and kissed me hard, thrusting harder. I was about to come. I closed my eyes, moaning and riding while Ben thrusted inside of me and sucked on my neck. I came, hard and loud, tensing up and squirming as he fucked me faster. Now, it was his turn. With a mighty roar, Ben came deep inside me. We came together while Ménage scratched and cried from the other side of the door. Ben carried me to the bed and we lay down. We fell asleep with our legs tangled together.

Ménage eventually stopped barking and probably ran off somewhere in the house to pee. I was too tired to care. I lay in my lovers arms without a care in the world. My ear to his chest, I could hear his heartbeat as it slowed down, finding its pace. I watched the rise and fall of his chest and he breathed deep, letting me know that he was already asleep. I snuggled up close to him and finally fell asleep myself. 

THE END

Bonus Story 6 of 20

Shaun turned to Gerald and a smile split his otherwise serene face. The man that they had been tracking for more than three days was just up ahead somewhere. An abandoned factory loomed ahead in the darkness. Its broken windows stared like eyes from the shadows. Besides the small forest they were hiding in themselves, there was nowhere else to hide other than the factory. The brothers nodded to one another and darted across the open expanse between the factory and the trees they had been hiding in. They moved like shadows as they approached the building. The scent of the man they were hunting grew stronger as they neared.

Shaun held up a hand that brought them to a halt. He raised his face to the air and inhaled deeply. The smell of fear, sweat, and anger mixed in his nostrils.
Good. He’s tired of running and starting to get angry,
Shaun thought. He was glad that the man they chased was through running. They had been chasing him for eight days through some of the roughest country in North America. Shaun waved Gerald up and moved to the doorway.

Each man took a side of the doorway and stood still with their breath held as they listened for any sign of their prey. Gerald heard him first. He gave Shaun the signal that he had heard something with his hands. Shaun strained his ears for the slightest sound and then he heard the sound as well. It had been there all along, but his mind had not registered it for what it was. It was the sound of a man breathing shallowly so as not to attract attention. Shaun held up three fingers and Gerald nodded.

As he dropped one finger at a time, Shaun prepared to burst into the room. He dropped his final finger and both men spun into the doorway. As they moved through the room, their bodies changed rapidly. Hair sprouted all over and muscles swelled to the point the skin looked like it would split. Fingernails and teeth elongated to claws and fang-like teeth. In seconds, the two men had the bodies of bears as they raced through the factory.

A yelp from up ahead let them know that their target had seen them change and now knew that he was in serious trouble. Only two werebears in the whole world were known to work together. Most of the time werebears couldn’t work with one another for long without becoming hostile toward each other, but Shaun and Gerald were different. They had formed a bond that could not be broken and because of that bond they were one of the most feared pair of shapeshifters in the world.

Gerald leapt through a window and landed on all fours on the other side. A man dressed in a leather jacket and blue jeans tried to slide to a halt. His feet slipped on glass from the window and he went down hard on his buttocks. As Gerald closed the ground between them, he moaned and tried to back away on his hands and feet in a crab walk. A low growl from behind stopped him dead in his tracks. He arched his neck and looked straight into the face of Shaun. He opened his mouth to scream.

Shaun’s bear lips parted in what could only be called a smile and he batted the man in the side of the head. Not hard enough to kill him. Not yet, but he batted him hard enough to knock him into a wall. The partners shifted back into humans in the blink of an eye and walked over to where the man lay. As Shaun squatted over him, Gerald pulled a pistol from his pants and kept a watch just in case their target had friends in the area.

The man groggily sat up and stared at the two men before him. Shaun sat on his haunches with his hands dangling between his legs and smiled. For a full minute, he didn’t speak as he turned his head from side to side and took the man in. Sweat broke out on the man’s forehead and twice he tried to speak, but each time Shaun held up a hand and stopped him dead.

“You led us on quite a chase my friend.” Shaun’s voice was gruff as he spoke. “One of the longest chases I’ve been on, but no matter. They all end the same. Now I’ll give you the same choice I give all of our targets. Fight us or die in the dirt like the animal you are?”

“Can’t we talk about this?” The man tried to move back further, but the wall prevented him from doing so.

“Nothing needs to be said here. You killed a little girl. You showed that you are not worthy of living. If it was up to me, I’d tear you to pieces right here and now, but that is not the law of the chase. So choose. Fight and die or whimper in the dirt and be executed.”

“I...I don’t want to die!” He screamed and swiped at Shaun.

“Too little too late.” Shaun began to change back into the bear. As he did the man also began to morph. He’s features became wolf-like as his body altered. “Good.” Growled Shaun. “I like it when they fight.”

Behind Shaun, Gerald let out a sigh. “I got the last one so this one is yours brother.”

The man lunged forward in wolf-form and tried to snap at Shaun with his mouth, but Shaun batted him away with a massive paw. This time he used all the force he had. The wolf was thrown into the air and slammed back to the earth in a cloud of dust. The wolf was game, though. He let out a tremendous howl and lunged forward once again. He ducked under the swipe of the bear’s paw and moved in for the attack, but Shaun anticipated the move. He brought his other paw down like a sledgehammer into the back of the wolf. A howl of pain escaped the wolf’s mouth as his back broke from the force of the blow. Shaun bent over the wolf as he lay whimpering on the floor. With a grim smile, he peeled back his lips and revealed massive teeth. The screams from the wolf echoed throughout the abandoned factory and the surrounding woods as the Brother’s Swagger completed their job.

*****

Cynthia loved her job working in the library for more reasons than one. She loved to read and the library had plenty of books. She liked the quiet and that was one of the things that libraries were known for, and she also liked the smell of the old books. Somehow the smell reminded her of her childhood home. Not that her house had smelled like old books, but her father’s book collection had been quite extensive. Being a lawyer, he had required several books on law and a lot of them had been old tomes. From a very young age, she remembered going into her father’s study room and taking the big old books down from the shelves. Even before she could read.

Now her parents were gone and her father’s books were donated to a local law practice, but she still loved books. As she flipped to the last page of the book she was currently reading she felt a thrill go through her.
Another one on the list,
she thought. She had a list of books she had read since she was a little girl. It was quite long.

A small voice spoke up to her from the front of the desk. She sped through the last paragraph of the book and thumped it shut with a sigh. The book had been one of the best she had read in a long time. She glanced at her watch before she looked up and noticed that it was almost closing time. She could see the hands of a child on the desk and the book they held, but the rest of the little girl or boy was hidden from view because of the height of the desk.

“Can I have this?” The small voice spoke again and the fingers wiggled over the book.

“Of course you can.” Cynthia leaned forward enough so she could see the small child. It was a boy of about eight years old. She smiled at him and he returned it. “Do you have your library card?”

“I do.” One of his hands slid from the counter and fished in his pocket for a moment. A look of worry crossed his face but was soon replaced by a smile as he found the card. He pushed it onto the desk. “Here it is Miss Librarian.”

“Okay. I’ll just scan your book and your card and you’ll be set to go.” She handed him his card and book with a brown dog on the front locked in eternal combat with a rattlesnake. He took them eagerly and turned to go, but she stopped him. “Are you alone honey?”

“No. My mom is waiting in the car.”

Without another word, he hurried out the door and down the steps. As the door swung closed. Cynthia moved to the window and watched the boy to make sure he wasn’t alone. Sure enough, he ran to a car parked on the curb and hopped in the back. A woman nodded as he showed her the book and pulled away from the curb.

Cynthia thought it was kind of strange that a mom would let her seven or eight-year-old son go into the library by himself. Her mom would never have done such a thing, but then again her mom had been very overprotective of her and her older sister. She was what the psychologists now would call a helicopter parent.

The lock on the door worked smoothly as she turned it and the deadbolt. She locked the top and the bottom bolts too. She really didn’t see anyone stealing books from a library. Vandalism was more likely. It seemed that the world was getting worse by the day. The morals of each individual falling a couple notches each week, but in reality it was no worse than it had ever been. Yes, the crimes seemed more violent. That was because the criminals had to think up new ways to commit the same old crimes. Humanity wasn’t getting worse. People were starting to drop the naive shield from their eyes and see the world for what it truly was.

A pounding on the front door broke her chain of thought. She stopped halfway between her desk and the door. A second later the pounding on the door echoed once more throughout the library. She spun on her heels and walked back to the door. Just as she reached it whoever was outside pounded on the door once again. They were hitting it hard too. Each blow caused the door to jump and bounce in place and the front doors were very solidly built from oak.

“We’re closed for the day. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.” Cynthia yelled through the doors.

“Come on lady. I just need to get a book for my daughter. I promised her I would today.” The man’s voice sounded hurried and nervous.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I . . . ”

“Please. I’ll make it worth your time. I’ll pay you fifty bucks if you’ll let me get the book my daughter wants.”

Cynthia was saving up for a new coffee pot. You really didn’t notice how little money a librarian made until you tried to save up to buy something. She was tired of no coffee in the morning and the fifty bucks would give her more than enough to buy the coffee maker and some good coffee beans to boot.

“Alright, but you have to hurry.”

She unlocked one of the doors and swung it back until a crack no wider than an inch appeared. The man’s face appeared in the crack and he gave her a smile. His hand flashed and he pushed a fifty-dollar bill through the crack she had made. She took the bill and let him in.

“Thank you. You’ve really helped me out.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do.” She held the fifty out to him. “Here. I don’t feel right taking this. Take it back, please.”

She expected him to refuse for a moment before taking it back or just refuse altogether. She could not have been more shocked when he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked the bill from her hands.

“Don’t mind if I do you stupid broad. Now lock the damn door back and hurry it up.”

“What . . . ”

“Lock the door!”

He punctuated the yell with a backhand across the mouth so hard that Cynthia immediately tasted blood. She locked the bolts on the door and turned around to face the man. A wicked grin split his face. With his right hand, the same one he had used to slap her across the face with, he motioned her toward the window.

“Shut the blinds and hurry up about it.”

Cynthia closed the blinds. “Why are you doing this?”

“Don’t ask questions! Just shut the damn blinds, woman!”

She hurried around the library and shut the blinds like she was told. As she was shutting the one behind the desk, he picked up the phone and ripped the cord from the wall. Her heart sank as he smashed it on the floor. Plastic scattered in all directions. Her cellphone was still in her purse behind the desk. She hoped against hope that he wouldn’t think of it, but once more her heart sank as he turned to her.

“Where is your cellphone?”

“I don’t have one.” She thought that maybe he would believe her. The hard look in his eyes told her at once that he hadn’t. He lunged forward with the speed of a darting snake and grabbed her by the throat.

“I’m only going to ask you one more time.” He growled. “Where is your cellphone? Keep in mind that if you lie to me again I’ll crush the life out of you.”

He tightened his hold on her throat just to show her that he wasn’t joking in the least. He shoved her back. She coughed violently and rubbed her neck where he had squeezed it. She reached behind the counter and for the first time in her life wished that she had a gun. Never before had she wanted anything to do with one. When she was young, she remembered her father having guns, but she had never liked them. Too loud. Now she wished she had kept at least one of the small handguns. She handed her purse to him and sat down on her stool behind the counter.

As the man rifled through her purse and spilled the contents out onto the counter, Cynthia tried to think of a way out of the mess she was in. She didn’t try to sugarcoat it. She knew that she was in serious trouble.
There are only a few ways that this can end.
She told herself.
None of them are pleasant in the least, so you have to do something quick.
Her eyes fell upon a small metal object that she used every day. It was no longer that her hand and gleamed in the light.

A letter opener.

The man had found her cellphone and she expected him to smash it on the floor, but he didn’t. He flipped it open. While he was distracted with turning the phone off, she palmed the letter opener and shoved it up the sleeve of her sweater.